Pontiac G6 Interior Review
The Pontiac G6 has a nice interior with attractive fabrics and comfortable bucket seats. At first, it has that tank-like Pontiac feeling of sitting down low in the cockpit, but that feeling goes away with a little familiarity and the G6 becomes a happy companion. The cabin is altogether different from the old soft-plastic, fat-knob theme of older Pontiacs. It's much more modern, more European.
The sporty front bucket seats are made for body comfort and body retention in high-speed maneuvers, and they are very comfortable and thickly padded.
Rear-seat space benefits from the relatively long wheelbase of 112.3 inches. In the sedan, a 6-foot, 4-inch passenger can sit behind a 6-foot, 4-inch driver with plenty of room. Those with tall friends or family may want to remember that the Panoramic sunroof is powered by a motor that takes up a big chunk of headroom at the trailing edge of the sedan's headliner. The coupe's rear seating is a little tighter, and the convertible's tighter still, especially in shoulder and hip room. The available rear bucket seats in the G6 convertible are appropriate because we wouldn't want to put three people back there.
The dash is done in four major sections including a stark, ungrained plastic center stack that holds two vents, the sound system, heater controls, and a 12-volt power outlet. Instruments and controls are presented in white on black (red at night). Every single knob and escutcheon has a chrome ring around it; very tasteful, and nicely presented, with small, conservative graphics on the faces and labels.
The center stack has a red-LED readout and control panel that allows every owner to use the sound system's features, and to customize the locking, lighting, and other functions, with a trip computer and driver information system that's easy, intuitive and fun to use. This G6 offers a remote starting system for those cold winter mornings, power adjustable pedals, and OnStar and XM Satellite Radio, which use a single integrated antenna. The audio system works well and the knobs are sized well for operating while driving, a welcome relief from the tiny buttons and knobs on many systems. However, we miss the smart pre-set buttons used on previous GM vehicles that let the driver switch from favorite AM, FM and XM stations simply by pressing the pre-set; the new setup works like most radios, requiring the driver first change the band before switching to the favored station.
The Panoramic roof available for the four-door sedan comes open in four stacking segments, front to rear, and has about twice as much open area as the conventional sunroof, which is also offered. It's remarkable how easily it works, and keeps conversation possible even at very high road speeds. It's an interesting feature and we recommend it.
The convertible's top was engineered with Karmann, which specializes in convertibles. The big top opens and closes within 30 seconds, storing under the truck lid and a hard tonneau cover when open. We found it works exceptionally well, powering up or down with the press of a button. Hold the button down after it's done and the windows will power up or down appropriately.
The trunk is still accessible when the top is down, but space is reduced from a tiny 5.8 cubic feet to a grocery-bag sized 1.8 cubic feet. By comparison, the coupe offers 11 cubic feet of trunk space, while the sedan offers 14 cubic feet. Obviously, that can limit your use of the convertible's top-down mode on long trips. The trunklid on the convertible was heavy and relatively hard to lift open.
Pontiac G6 Road Test
The Pontiac G6 is fun to drive and quite pleasant for cruising around. We found the sedan, coupe and convertible models reasonably quiet around town. A few powertrain and road noises slipped in here and there, and there was some wind noise from the sharp-cornered mirror bodies.
The handling is responsive and fun. The suspension strikes a good balance between handling and ride quality. The ride is comfortable and smooth and the car tracks well. The electric power steering is nicely weighted in terms effort at the steering wheel rim, but a little vague in fast transitions.
The popular 3.5-liter V6 is quiet and smooth, with a 0-60 mph time that's just enough to keep you out of trouble, but not enough to make your heart beat faster. The 3.5-liter V6 produces 224 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque. GM has refined this overhead-valve engine and it's relatively smooth and quiet and gets decent fuel economy.
The more powerful GTP delivers more sprightly performance. The 3.6-liter engine that comes in the GTP is rated at 252 horsepower, 251 pound-feet of torque. This is an overhead-cam engine with variable-valve timing.
The EcoTec 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is from the same double overhead-cam engine family used in the Saab 9-3, Opel Vectra and Chevrolet Malibu. The 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is rated 169 horsepower, 162 pound-feet of torque.
The automatic transmission worked flawlessly. The four-speed automatic is matched well to the engine's power and torque bands. Most of the time, we simply put it in Drive and drove. However, the automatic features a neat, simple manual-control mechanism that allows the driver to shift manually. When the manual mode is selected, it will not automatically upshift for you at redline, it goes right up against the rev limiter, a strategy that enthusiasts prefer. An indicator light in the instrument panel helps remind you to shift.
We did a number of 90-0 mph ABS panic stops with the car on a deserted country road, and it stopped straight and true every time with no fade. The brakes have a nice, progressive power application through the pedal.
Pontiac G6 Lineup
The 2007 Pontiac G6 sedan comes standard with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. Standard features on the Special Value model ($17,245) include air conditioning, tilt/telescopic steering wheel, power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, AM/FM/CD player, variable intermittent wipers, tachometer, theft-deterrent system, and 16-inch steel wheels with 215/60R16 tires. The base model ($18,800) adds cruise control, remote keyless entry and 17-inch steel wheels with 225/50R17 tires.
The GT sedan ($22,380), GT coupe ($22,150), and GT convertible ($28,750) come standard with a 3.5-liter V6, ABS, and 17-inch wheels and tires. Interior upgrades include a four-way adjustable driver's seat with power height adjustment and a 200-watt Monsoon premium sound system.
The GTP sedan ($24,650) and GTP coupe ($24,450) feature a special 3.6-liter V6 engine with VVT and six-speed automatic transmission.
Options include XM Satellite Radio ($199), adjustable pedals ($125), remote starter system ($190), heated front seats ($250) and more. Option packages are available to personalize the car.
Safety features that come on all models include driver and passenger front airbags (the passenger side airbag features occupant detection) and seatbelts with pretensioners. New standard safety features for 2007 are side-impact air bags and head curtain airbags for G6 sedan and coupe models. Anti-lock brakes packaged with traction control are standard on GT and GTP models (optional on base models). What kind of traction control you get depends on the trim level. Basic traction assist is available on the base model, full-spectrum traction control on the GT, and traction control with the GM/Delphi Stabilitrak chassis control system will be available on the GTP. OnStar ($695) is an excellent safety feature for its ability to summon help. We recommend opting for all this stuff.